Preparing for your Home Inspection

1. Contact us and book your inspection well in advance. We suggest that you contact us early in order to determine how many days you will need to fulfill any conditions of your offer to purchase. Depending on the time of year, we are generally booking 3-5 business days in advance. To cancel any scheduled booking, our office must receive notification 48 hours prior to the scheduled appointment.
    
2. Plan on attending the inspection. Inspections generally occur during regular working hours so you may need to book time off work. Unlike a regular real estate visit that may occur in the evening, a home inspector requires full daylight to be able to visibly detect deficiencies with the exterior of your new home. We do not conduct evening inspections - period. Weekend bookings are offered but tend to be booked well in advance by individuals purchasing recreational properties that require additional travel time.
    
3.  Should there be inclement weather on your inspection day, make sure to bring clothing that will keep you comfortable, warm & dry. A portion of the inspection process happens outdoors.
    
4. Once booked, you will have to ensure that the arranged time of inspection is OK with your agent/vendor as they will likely be the ones responsible for gaining access to the home that day. We would suggest that the owners not be present during the inspection process although it is not critical if they are. Our obligation is to you - our client - and you can rest assured that we will ensure that you get the straight facts about your purchase. We have no affiliation with any real estate office.
    
5. To avoid distractions on the day of the inspection, please leave the kids at home if at all possible(let them choose their rooms and colour schemes during another visit). We also suggest that you do not invite several family members such as parents or in-laws for the same reason.
    
6. Be prepared to spend 2 to 4 hours at the property(depending on size and age, this may vary) and bring along a notepad to make your own notes on observations or suggestions that our inspector may make.
    
7. If needed, prepare a list of questions and bring them with you to discuss with your home inspector. The home inspector will have a routine that they like to follow. They also want to ensure that your concerns are addressed during the course of the inspection. Try to organize questions by room in order that you can mention them when you visit each area with the inspector during the inspection process.
    
8. If you wish to bring a camera, please obtain permission from the vendors first, as there may be security or privacy concerns of you taking photos of their furniture and possessions.
    
9. We will provide you with a measuring tape if required. Some clients like to use the extra time to take specific measurements while the inspector is writing up the inspection report.
    
10. You will receive a complete written report presented to you onsite; on the day of the inspection. The importance of you attending the inspection in person, is that you will receive a complete verbalization during the walk through with the Inspector. He may be able to provide you with maintenance suggestions or future repair work or items to simply keep an eye on. Any deficiencies noted will be verbally explained as to whether a remedial action is possible, ballpark costs associated with the repair or alternatives (Remember that any repair costs provided are strictly rough estimates and may vary by as much as 300% depending on the quality of replacement material used). At the end of the inspection, your inspector will review your inspection report with you. Remember, we will not "pass or fail" a property. Our job is to explain both the positive and negative aspects of the home. The decision whether to proceed with the purchase or not, remains in your hands not ours.
    
    Be forewarned - Should you chose not to proceed with a purchase it is likely that you will be asked by the agent or homeowner to disclose your inspection findings or even provide them with a copy of your report. Under no circumstances should you do so. It is clearly identified in our "Terms & Conditions" of inspection that the report is for your use only. It may be shared with your solicitor however. You may feel pressured by a real estate agent to disclose your inspection findings, however your inspection report is a confidential report for your exclusive use only. If you do provide a copy of our report to any third parties, our "Terms & Conditions" clearly state that you will clearly assume ALL RESPONSIBILITY for your report's use by others. Most times an agent or owner is merely attempting to save on the cost of a home inspection by using your reports findings.  If they really wanted to find out what was wrong with the property, they should have arranged for their own home inspection instead of using one that you have paid for. Don't fall into this trap. All that needs to be discussed with an agent or homeowner, is something to the effect that there were issues about the home that arose as part of the inspection process and that they were unacceptable to you.
    You may of course, want to confirm this with your solicitor in advance of the inspection. You need not proceed further if  "the home inspection was not  to your satisfaction". No more needs to be said -period.
     
11. We will conduct a random sampling of electrical plugs in the home for grounding and polarity. We will provide an electrical panel examination, however we cannot conduct a thorough panel examination without turning off the main breaker and will not do so as it so may affect alarm systems, computers, timers etc.
     
12. Review your "SPIS" (Seller's Personal Information Sheet) questionnaire prior to your inspection day. Often questions may arise that can sometimes be discussed during the inspection; by the Inspector.
     
13. Please ask your agent/owner, if possible, to try to have the attic access reasonably clear. The inspector always likes the opportunity to report any findings he can see from the access hatch. Inspectors are not allowed to move furniture or personal possessions. Our inspection is limited to a visual inspection of readily visible aspects of the home only. We cannot see behind walls and cannot remove wall coverings to see what lies beneath them. Basements that are full of boxes or stored items may pose a concern as they may conceal existing wall conditions such as moisture or cracks.
     
14. Payment is due at the end of the inspection. We accept cash or a cheque. In either case, a full receipt will be provided to you. Cheques should be made payable to Home Inspectors.
    
    Thank you for having chosen Home Inspectors.

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